Released on = January 11, 2006, 8:01 pm

Press Release Author = biffmitchell.com

Industry = Entertainment

Press Release Summary = Biff Mitchell goes over the top in The Baton, his recently
released novella about a serial killer who eliminates all those people who the
author claims "we all wish we could strangle," but the Dollar Download ebook still
finds publishers.

Press Release Body = "I didn't think anybody would ever publish it," said author
Biff Mitchell about his novella The Baton, which was recently released at
Fictionwise.com through US publisher Echelon Press. "But Karen Syed at Echelon was
adamant the she wasn't going to back away from flack a controversy might bring on."

Described by one reader as "Holden Caulfield on steroids, "The Baton is about a man
who has had with telemarketers, people who butt into the front of the line or play
their music too loud, cell phone bullies, and sidewalk spitters. "He hates them
all," said Mitchell, "just like we all do. So he starts following them. And then he
starts killing them."

"The original title was Killing Assholes," said Mitchell. "But that gave the story
away. So I changed the name to The Baton and started giving the story away in media
releases. I think, though, that there are people we all wish we could strangle -
people who seem to exist for the purpose of making everyone around them feel
inadequate, used, or miserable. There are entire websites dedicated to people who
are proud to be called assholes and their numbers are growing."

The Baton was picked up by Echelon Press, an aggressive independent publisher in
Maryland, and published as a Dollar Download ebook. "I liked the concept," said
Mitchell. "Selling short pieces of fiction individually seemed like the days of
Dickens when you could by a single printed short story for half a penny, except now
their sold electronically for people to read on their computers or PDAs."

According to Mitchell, one of the biggest catalysts in what appears to be "a
renaissance in short fiction" is Fictionwise.com. "They started publishing
individual short stories alongside novels so that people could download a good read
just long enough for a morning bus commute, something that could be ordered,
downloaded and read on a wireless handheld device while in transit - and usually for
less than a buck."

"It seemed natural that a short fiction innovator like Echelon would form a
distribution partnership with Fictionwise," said Mitchell. "And it appears to be
working well. The Baton is my second Echelon novella to be posted at Fictionwise,
but I'm particularly happy this one made it. There's a lot of violence, strong
language and downright nastiness in The Baton, but it's not meant to just shock. I
think it has something to say to everybody in an increasingly crowded and intolerant
world."

According to Barry Hunter's review in Baryon Online, it's "a satisfying short tale
that makes you look at life a little differently."

"It was my teenage daughter who suggested I write it," said Mitchell. "She said she
was tired of listening to me complaining about all the inconsiderate store clerks,
maniacal car drivers and noisy people in theatres and dared me to write something
about them. So I did."

"But I'm still surprised that any publisher would take a chance on that story," said
Mitchell. "I think I let a lot of strong feelings flow into it - feelings what
surprised me as I was writing the story."

The Baton is available for less than a dollar at:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook35773.htm


About Biff Mitchell
Biff Mitchell is the author of the world's first laundromance, Heavy Load
(Fictionwise). This cybersatire, The War Bug, was recently released in paper back by
Double Dragon Publishing and his satire on the IT industry, Team Player was just
released by Double Dragon in ebook format. He has two novellas, The Baton and Smoke
Break, published as Dollar Downloads by Echelon Press and available at Fictionwise.
He's also the author of the bestselling marketing ebook eMarketing Tools for Writers
2nd Edition (Fictionwise).



Web Site = http://www.biffmitchell.com

Contact Details = Thom Glen
Phone: 506-455-3678
Web Site: www.biffmitchell.com